The invention relates to floating antennas.
There are a variety of situations in which waterborne antennas are required. They are used, for example, to broadcast signals from locator beacons deployed from sinking ships or downed aircraft. In other applications, they are used to transmit signals detected by sensing devices--such as sonar detectors--which are suspended below the surface of the water. In many of the current applications for floating antennas, the antenna is designed to remain at the surface; in some applications, such as covert operations, it is designed to be scuttled when it is no longer needed.
In underwater operations conducted by a diver, the diver often needs to transmit or receive information while at different locations under water. It is undesirable for the diver to pull a floating antenna along with him as he moves from location to location, as the tether line creates drag and is susceptible to entanglement. Surfacing to transmit or receive is also undesirable, as it may necessitate decompression stops to avoid decompression sickness (the bends), and it may destroy the secrecy necessary for covert operations.